When addressing the issues of pollution, limited energy supply, and carbon emissions faced by conventional petrochemical industries, solar is one of the most sought-after sources of alternative renewable, non-toxic energy. For this reason, development of improved solar cell technology to transform solar energy into electricity has become a common pursuit of research and development.
The dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has particular advantages of being permeable to light, flexible, easily processed, and inexpensive, as well as possessing a large active area and so is more economically efficient than silicon solar cells. Normally, a dye sensitized solar cell includes four parts: anode/cathode electrodes for providing path for current, a semiconductor material (such as titanium oxide), a dye layer, and an electrolyte for transferring electron holes. The material of each part mentioned above and the interface structure between them all may affect the efficiency of the cell.
At present, liquid state electrolytes are commonly used in the industry but have the disadvantages of being volatile, unstable, and difficult to package. Therefore, an electrolyte in solid or gel state is developed to address the issue of instability. However, solid state electrolytes have their own problems. For example, it is difficult for the electrolyte to penetrate into titanium oxide, and the ion diffusion rate is slow, leading to low conductivity.
Therefore, there is a demand in this technical field to develop a solid electrolyte resolving the above issues.